Shangri La
by Lizard Pie
Summary: Nigel is back on the moon base after 30 years. He finds that it's even more possible to leave when you haven't actually gone anywhere. Set after I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S..


Nigel's return to the moon base hadn't been the sort of glorious reunion he'd envisioned. Rather than a party with all of the highest ranking members, there was a small team in protective gear that hurriedly shuffled him into an exam room. A better welcome would come after he'd been cleared by the doctor, they insisted before they headed out and locked the door behind them.

Insulting as it was, he had to admit that he'd have probably done the same thing if he'd been in charge.

After what seemed like an hour the person who came in was still heavily-protected, and far too tall to be a guard. It took Nigel a moment to shake off his shock and reach for the gun that had been taken from him in intake. By that point, the adult had already moved his gloved hand into a gun shape, aimed and fired.

"All these years," the adult said with a chuckle. "And I'm still faster on the draw."

Nigel blinked, and did his best to peer into the mask. "Numbuh 4?"

He waved as he set up his scanner. "Welcome back. Just a few quick tests, then we'll do a basic physical. Shouldn't take more than-"

"Wait, wait... _you're_ the doctor?"

"Yup." The probe whined as it began to glow. "Stay still, alright? This guy can sting."

Nigel thought he did a very commendable job of holding all of his questions until the machine dinged cheerfully, and the grown Wally removed his helmet.

"Sorry about that, just had to make sure you weren't carrying something that'd kill us all, you know?" He put the scanner away and moved to a laptop. "Let's get the rest of this done so we can get an actual welcome going."

"Right, good." Nigel climbed onto the exam table. He sorted through every question and exclamation he had, and finally settled on "I have to admit... I never saw you becoming a doctor."

"I don't think anyone did. I sure didn't," Wally agreed as he plugged the readings into the chart. "At least until I hit high school and found out I have a knack for biology. Then, when I decided to go into medicine, I had to actually buckle down and pay attention." He placed a plastic cover onto the ear thermometer. "Ended up with one of the only scholarships I think the Kid's Next Door will ever scrape together, once they figured it would be smart to have a doctor on call. That it got Kuki's dad to finally admit that maybe we'd make a decent couple was just icing on the cake."

"Congratulations, then." Nigel allowed his ear to be tugged into position until the machine beeped out a reading. He didn't bring up that nobody who'd worked with Numbuh 4 in his prime would have pegged him for a responsible physician, either, but Wally seemed to sense it.

"Thanks. Probably helped a lot that I was at least 3 generations in, by that point. Nobody really remembers that I couldn't even spell to save my life, they just see my diploma. From Harvard," he added, proudly, as he ejected the cap into the trash. "We've become legends around here. You, especially." He glanced over before he went to make another note. "Everyone around here's really excited to see what you've been working on."

"It'll definitely be worth it," he said with a smirk. "We've finally figured out how to cure adulthood."

"Oh, really?"

"Absolutely! I'll be able to get you guys back to your proper selves in no time!"

Wally faulted over the keys for a moment. "Our proper selves, eh?"

"Of course!" He scoffed out a laugh. "You didn't think I'd leave my team trapped as adults, did you?"

"Well, no, I didn't think you'd forget us," He said. "Just... a lot's changed." He made another note, if only to buy time. "I mean, you've been gone almost three decades, now."

"And?" he asked, impatiently, as Wally headed over with a stethoscope.

"_And_ stuff's changed." He placed the diaphragm on Nigel's back. "I got married, for one. Breathe deep."

"Numbuh 3 sent some pictures of the wedding in a transmission," he said between breaths. "It seemed nice."

"It was. I'm also betting she showed you pictures of our girls. And our house."

"She did." Nigel grinned as Wally moved to his chest. "How hard was it for you to paint their rooms that pink?"

"That's kinda the point, Nig... Numbuh 1," he said. "It wasn't tough at all because I was doing it for my girls, but mostly just because I'm not the same person I was when I was 10." He put the stethoscope back around his neck. "None of us are."

"And that's the exact problem!" Nigel scowled as Wally sheepishly returned to his notes. "You haven't been a kid so long you're forgetting what it was like. You're almost talking like you guys _want_ to be adults!" He spat the last word as fiercely as he could.

"To be fair," he said with a frown. "You never learned what it's like to be an adult."

Nigel, not much more than the twelve year old who'd left Earth so long ago, curled his lip. "And I'm better off for it."

"My point is there are perks to it. I mean, not up here. Still can't get a properly-sized cot in my room, much less a second one when Kuki heads up with me..."

"Numbuh 4..."

"But down on Earth, my job's great, I get to live with Kuki, and we can head out and have fun with a lot of things I hadn't even thought about when I was a kid. And besides, I think I'm more of an asset to the organization, now, than I was..."

"_Numbuh 4_. Are you forgetting everything we worked for? What I've spent _all these years_ on?"

"We were working to make kids lives' better, and protect them from adult tyranny. But that didn't mean acting like all adults were evil or that it had to be a bad thing. Growing up is just a thing that happened to everyone."

"It doesn't have to, now!" Nigel snapped. "This is the best we could have hoped for!"

Wally sighed as he shut the laptop. "Maybe thirty years ago, I'd have agreed with you."

"And now?" He asked, bitterly.

He shrugged, apologetically. "And now I love my life."

Nigel hopped down from the table and roughly pulled his shirt back on. "Am I done?"

"Yeah, you're done." Wally moved to cleaning up the supplies as Nigel strode past him. "Welcome back."

With barely a grunt, he stormed out of the room and down the hall. He'd have to interview every one of his old teammates, to find if they'd all become so thoroughly disloyal. He hoped they weren't, of course, but if they were the decommissioning machine would likely still work.

Kuki watched him go from around a corner before she slunk into the exam room. She headed over to where Wally sat heavily in a chair and wrapped her arms around him.

"You really think we forgot?" he asked.

"Maybe a little." She nuzzled her cheek against his. "But, still, I wouldn't trade our life now either."

He reached up and pulled one of her hands over to kiss it. "I'm glad."

"You were worried?" Kuki asked in mock offense.

"Well, with how I'm evidently your idiot husband and all."

"You'll always be my idiot," she told him with a firm nudge. "Come on, let's get down to the main room. Don't want to miss the big announcement."

They headed, hand in hand, through the halls. They felt at home, then as much as ever, even if the moon base wasn't made for them.


End file.
